Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#191 :: Thursday, 24 October 2013

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Johnson’s Russia List :: 2013-#191 :: 24 October 2013
E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net
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POLITICS

1. Interfax: Poverty still seen as main problem in Russia – poll.
2. Russia Direct: Does the West demonize Putin and idealize Yeltsin? Harvard Professor Timothy Colton, the author of a bestselling biography of Boris Yeltsin, explains how the perception of Russian political leaders such as Vladimir Putin and Boris Yeltsin impacts the image of Russia in the West.
3. ITAR-TASS: Putin: People expect larger openness, honesty and competitiveness from political system.
4. Interfax: Russians think local authorities are becoming increasingly corrupt – poll.
5. Forbes.com: Mark Adomanis, 11 Things Everyone Should Know About Russian Demography.
6. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Russians Remain Culturally Soviet and That is the Source of Their Problems, Academician Says. (Yury Pivovarov)
7. www.opendemocracy.net: Lev Gudkov, Russian cynicism: symptom of a stagnant society.
8. http://seansrussiablog.org: Sean Guillory, Defunding Title VIII.
9. Moscow Times/BBC Monitoring: What the Papers Say, Oct. 24, 2013.
10. Kremlin.ru: Mayors’ conference and seminar.
11. Interfax: Russian NGOs accused of being ‘foreign agents’ vindicated – report.
12. Kommersant: Biryulevo Incident Prompts Proposals to Amend Preamble to Constitution.
13. RIA Novosti: Russia’s Female Suicide Bombers: Well-Organized and Hard to Stop.
14. www.foreignpolicy.com: Hanna Kozlowska, Is Alexey Navalny Russia’s Mandela — or the Kremlin’s Opposition Candidate?
15. Interfax: Opinion polls mirror improved public attitude to police – Interior Ministry.
16. Moscow News: Mark Galeotti, Moscow should believe in cops.
17. BBC Monitoring: Russian Islamic scholar and activist Dzemal interviewed on state TV.
18. Komsomolskaya Pravda: Wahhabis Said ‘Extremely Active’ in Recruiting College Students, Even in Moscow.
19. Moscow Times: Boris Kagarlitsky, The Kremlin Benefits From Migrants.
20. Russia Beyond the Headlines: FSB wants to record Internet communications.
21. Moscow Times: New Way of Teaching History to Be Finalized by Next Month.
22. RIA Novosti: Russian Authorities Dismiss Punk Rocker’s Jail Abuse Claim.
23. The International New York Times: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Ten Years a Prisoner.

ECONOMY

24. The Voice of Russia: Russia combating money laundering more successfully than US – FATF.
25. Russia Beyond the Headlines: Russia will not abandon market reforms. Business ombudsman Boris Titov tells RBTH why Russia needs an economic amnesty and how to improve the country’s business climate.
26. Business New Europe: Vladimir Tchikine, Russia’s WTO membership – a double-edged sword?
27. Moscow Times: Gazprom’s Bric-a-Brac Rig Called a Risk to the Arctic.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

28. Interfax: Russian diplomatic activity prevents foreign invasion of Syria – poll.
29. Interfax: Imposing political models on other states leads to escalation of int’l instability – Lavrov.
30. Interfax: European political forces tend to become radical – Dolgov.
31. RIA Novosti: Moscow Needs More ‘Predictability’ in NATO Missile Defense Plans.
32. RIA Novosti: Russia Criticizes Results of London Diplomatic Meeting on Syria.
33. Moscow Times: Moscow Denies U.S.-Based Diplomat Sought Young Spies.
34. Moscow Times: Russia Softens Charge in Greenpeace Case.
35. Kommersant: Russian Expert Interviewed on Intensification of ‘Global Jihad,’ Its Threat to Russia. (Andrey Kortunov)
36. Bloomberg; Matthew Philips, Russia’s Shrinking Leverage With China.
37. Paul Goble: Window on Eurasia: Post-Soviet States Increasingly Vary in Their Relations with Russia, Poll Finds.
38. ITAR-TASS: RUSSIAN PRESS REVIEW. Brussels envoys bring forward first demands to Ukraine.
39. Financial Times: Roman Olearchyk, Ukraine: one way to escape Russia’s grip – ­ just use less gas.
40. Moscow Times: Georgy Bovt, How Russia Lost Ukraine.
41. Interfax: Georgia presidential candidate Burjanadze vows normal relations with Russia if she wins.
42. Interfax: Presidential candidate Burdzhanadze: Georgia has zero chances to enter NATO.